21.12.12

England's Home Grounds 1873- 1900

England played 34 'home' matches during the 19th century, using a total of 21 grounds in the process. Initially cricket grounds were used, in fact it was 14 years before an England home international was played at a ground exclusively intended for football.1. Kennington Oval (London)England's first home match was played at the home of Surrey County Cricket Club. The Oval was the venue for all the big matches in early English football (cup finals, internationals, Varsity matches). FA Secretary Charles Alcock was also secretary of Surrey County Cricket Club , which surely influenced the use of this venue for the association game.England played 10 matches at The Oval between March 1873 (attendance 3.000 for a 4-2 win over Scotland) andApril 1889 (attendance 10.000, for a 3-2 loss to Scotland).2. Alexandra Meadows (Blackburn)England played 5 home games at The Oval before venturing to another ground. Alexandra Meadows is the home ground of the East Lancashire Cricket Club in Blackburn. At the time of the only international played there, on 26th. February 1881, it was the home of Blackburn Rovers. A crowd of 4,200 saw England lose 1-0 to Wales.3. Aigburth Park (Liverpool) A crowd of 2,500 watched England beat Ireland 7-0 at Aigburth Park Cricket Ground, Liverpool,on24th February 1883.

4. Bramall Lane (Sheffield)Bramall Lane is now well known as the home of Sheffield United, but they didn't take up residence there until 1889. At the time when England played their first international there in March 1883 it was the home of The Wednesday, but was primarily developed as a cricket ground also used by Sheffield FC. 7,000 were there for England's 3-2 loss to Scotland.England returned to Bramall Lane in March 1897 for a 4-0 defeat of Wales.5. Manchester Football Ground (Whalley Range, Manchester)On 28th February 1885 6,000 turned out at the home of Manchester RFC to see England beat Ireland 4-0.6. Leamington Street (Blackburn)Leamington Street (later Leamington Road) was the home of Blackburn Rovers from 1881-1890. Rovers, developing into one of the leading clubs, took out a lease on the ground and invested £500 in building a grandstand and enclosing the pitch with a wall. This arguably made it the first purpose built football ground to stage an international in England. England played their first match at this venue on 14th. March 1885. Watched by a 7,500 crowd they drew 1-1 with Wales. The next international played there was in March 1887. 12,000 spectators saw visitors Scotland win 3-2.The next English ground to stage a game featuring England was Nantwich Town's Nantwich Road Ground, in Crewe, but the Wales v England match played there on 4th. February 1888 was actually Wales' home game.7. The Victoria Ground (Stoke-upon-Trent)Stoke had been playing at the Victoria Ground since 1878, but at the time that it was first used for international football it was very different from the stadium of later years. It was an oval, surrounded by a running track. There were grass banks behind the goals. On the east side was a wooden stand that held 1,000 spectators, and opposite this another open bank.On 23rd February 1889 England beat Wales 4-1 at the Victoria Ground in front of a crowd of 6,000.8. Anfield Road (Liverpool)Anfield was opened in 1884 and was the home of Everton. On2nd March 1889 England beat Ireland 6-1 in front of 6,500 spectators.9. Molineux Grounds (Wolverhampton)

Wolverhampton Wanderers' home ground was developed at Molineux pleasure grounds, a park in the grounds of a stately home on the edge of Wolverhampton. Wolves moved there in 1889. The ground was created by The Northampton Brewery Company who rented it to the club at a very reasonable rate.7th March 1891 saw England defeat Ireland 6-1. The attendance was 15,231.

10. Newcastle Road (Sunderland)Sunderland moved to Newcastle Road, their first proper stadium, in 1886. By 1898, the ground reached a capacity of 15,000 after renovations, though in an 1891 FA Cup game against Everton a crowd of 21,000 was present.In one of two internationals played by England on 7th March 1891 15,000 were present to see the home team beat Wales 4-1. 11. Ewood Park (Blackburn)On 6th April 1891 Ewood Park became the third Blackburn Rovers ground to stage an international. A then record crowd of 31,000 witnessed a 2-1 win by England over Scotland.

12. Perry Barr (Birmingham)Not to be confused with the present Perry Barr Greyhound/ athletics stadium, Aston Villa's ground was situated at the rear of the Perry Barr tram depot . There's an Asda store and shopping precinct there now.In February 1893 a gate of 10,000 was recorded for England's 6-1 win over Ireland.

A rather bizarre illustration of the game at Richmond

13. Richmond Athletic Ground (London)The home of Rugby Club Richmond FC (ten Rugby internationals were played there in the 1890s and 1900s). 16,000 attended the match in which England beat Scotland 5-2 on 1st April 1893.14.County Cricket Ground (Derby)Also known as the Racecourse Ground, the County Ground was the home of Derby County from 1884-1895. The 1886 FA Cup Final replay was staged there. England walloped Ireland 9-0 at the County Ground on 9th March 1895, watched by 10,000 spectators. 15. Queen's Club (West Kensington, London)The Queens Club is a famous venue for tennis. It was formerly also the home of Corinthian F.C.13,000 were there in March 1885 to see a 1-1 draw between England and Wales.

16. Goodison Park (Liverpool)Goodison park was developed by Everton following the rift that led to the formation of Liverpool FC in 1892. The first match was played there in September 1892. It was the archetype of the large football stadium that was established throughout England in the 1890s and 1900s. On 6th April 1895 England beat Scotland 3-0 in front of a 42,500 crowd.

17.Trent Bridge Cricket Ground (Nottingham)Cricket has been played at Trent Bridge since 1838. In the 1880s both Nottingham Forest and Notts County played their bigger matches at the cricket ground (which had a larger capcity than their regular grounds). Notts County actually took up residence at Trent Bridge between 1883 and 1910.13,490 were there to witness England's annual trouncing of Ireland by 6-0 on 20th February 1897.

A stylized view of Crystal Palace from an early 20th century travel poster. Nice location...

18. Crystal Palace (London)Crystal Palace hosted the FA Cup Final from 1895–1914 so it is unsurprising that England also played there during this era. The National Sports Centre athletics stadium is now on the site of the football pitch. The location was originally chosen because of the natural 'hollow; in which the ground was laid out. England's first game there in April 1897 drew a crowd of 35,000. They lost 2-1 to Scotland.19. Roker Park (Sunderland)Sunderland moved into Roker Park in 1897 during a particularly successful period in their history. In February 1899 England beat Ireland 3-2 in front of a gate of 13,000. 20, Ashton Gate (Bristol)Bristol City didn't move to Ashton Gate until 1904. In 1899 it was the home of Southern League club Bedminster. England's first match there was a 4-0 win over Wales on 20th March 1899 watched by 10,000.21.Villa Park (Birmingham)The Villa Park stadium stands on the site of what was once a pool in the grounds of a Jacobean stately home in Aston Lower Grounds. Villa moved to their new stadium, which had a capacity of 40,000, in April 1897. Prior to this the site had been used for cycling and athletics events.England beat Scotland 2-0 in their first visit to Villa Park on 8th April 1899. The attendance was 25.590.